Be sure to include your name, daytime phone number, address, name and phone number of legal next-of-kin, method of payment, and the name of the funeral home/crematory to contact for verification of death.

As benefit concert approaches, Chad Rogers’ relatives quell rumors about his death

Chad Rogers, the Liberty man whose body was discovered at a construction site after a three-day search, was a huge fan of the Get Up Kids, one of the most popular and successful bands to emerge from the Kansas City and Lawrence music scene.

Saturday night, the Get Up Kids’ Matt Pryor will perform a solo acoustic set at the Midland by AMC as part of the Chad Rogers memorial benefit concert.

“I saw a list of songs he liked and several were mine, so I’ll play those and then some other songs that will be appropriate,” Pryor said.

A construction worker found Rogers’ body July 26 inside a portable toilet near where the Flintlock Flyover overpass was being built above Interstate 35. The site is about 2 miles from where searchers trudged through high grass, weeds and woods looking for Rogers, who vanished July 22 after leaving home for a run.

Authorities say there were no external signs of foul play in the death of the 30-year-old avid runner and former church youth director. He left a wife and a child.

Relatives say they think he died of natural causes but are awaiting a medical examiner’s report.

“We have not got the official word, but that is the indication,” his father, Greg Rogers, said Thursday. “We are not going to say anything until the medical examiner gives us the information, but all indications are that it was natural causes.”

Greg Rogers said his son’s wife, Sarah, posted a message on a memorial Facebook page to respond to rumors that had surfaced.

“Chad was NOT a drug user, he did NOT drink, and he did NOT commit suicide,” Sarah Rogers wrote.

Greg Rogers said his daughter-in-law felt compelled to respond.

“There were some nasty people on Facebook that chose to question what was going on because we had no information,” Greg Rogers said. “So then the rumor mill flies.

“Facebook was the greatest thing that happened in terms of getting the word out about Chad and getting the search started, but it can turn on you pretty quickly.”

The portable toilet was locked from the inside, police said. The construction worker who discovered the body had to pry open the door.

It will take several weeks before the medical examiner’s report is complete, Liberty Police Sgt. Bob Kumpost said.

“The big thing we are waiting for is the toxicology report to make sure there was nothing in his system,” Kumpost said. “With the body being in there for so long with the heat, it might be difficult for them to come up with a distinct cause of death.”

The Saturday concert also will feature Jake Turner, the Old Crows, Atlas, We Are Voices, Six Percent and Beautiful Bodies. Doors open at 4 p.m. The music starts at 5 p.m. Tickets are $9.65 in advance, $10 the day of the show.

Tickets can be purchased at Mill Street Records, the Midland box office and Planet Sub locations.

Videos

Join the Discussion

The Kansas City Star is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.